Blue Cheer

Dickie Peterson - Vocals/Bass Andrew ‘Duck’ MacDonald - Lead Guitar Paul Whaley - Drums Heavy metal pioneers BLUE CHEER were originally managed by the Hell’s Angels and deemed as ‘The single most powerful band I’ve ever seen’ by Jim Morrison of The Doors. One of the original ‘power trios,’ BLUE CHEER, blew up with its full-on heavy metal version of ‘Summertime Blues’ from the band’s seminal 1968 album, ‘Vincibus Eruptum.’ Pitchforkmedia.com recently wrote that, ‘The Who ripped these guys off!’ Named after a brand of LSD created by Owsley Stanley, BLUE CHEER, then young regulars on the Haight-Ashbury scene, made a name for themselves as the first band to be universally called: ‘The loudest band in the world.’

They epitomized the San Francisco psychedelic sound. They are hailed as the fathers of metal, the godfathers of grunge as well as garage gods. ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ is BLUE CHEERS’ first studio album in over a decade, which Rolling Stone magazine’s David Fricke calls ‘a strong studio calling for that live might,’ saying that BLUE CHEER are ‘still ‘louder than God,’ to quote an old compliment.’

The band has recorded nine earth-shaking new tracks including on ode to their favorite pastime with ‘Rollin’ Dem Bones’ to the origins of being a ‘Malajusted Child.’ They also do a heavy dose of the blues-classic ‘Born Under A Bad Sign.’ BLUE CHEER in the past couple years have been actively touring Europe and America with the likes of Witch (featuring J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.), Dead Meadow and Goblin Cock as well as at last year’s Vice’s 2006 Intonation Festival (alongside Bloc Party, Ghostface Killah and High On Fire) and the CMJ Music Marathon. In April of 2007 they performed at the Roadburn Festival in Holland with The Melvins, Pelican and Neurosis. In November, BLUE CHEER toured the East Coast to kick off the current U.S. Tour.

While going through several lineup changes through their career, BLUE CHEER went on to release a catalogue of stellar albums that would go on to impact the world of heavy music (and many largely successful bands) forever, including "Outsideinside," "New! Improved! Blue Cheer," "The Original Human Being," "Oh! Pleasant Hope," and also performed with legends such as the MC5, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Vanilla Fudge, Ike & Tina Turner and Captain Beefheart. After a temporary split in 1971, the band reunited in '79 and toured the world on and off since, touring with the likes of The Yardbirds, Biohazard, Danzig, Mucky Pup, and other heavy bands of great stature.

‘The Beast Is Back,’ the first studio album since the band reunited, was released worldwide in 1984. Famed producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden) produced BLUE CHEER ‘s 1990 album, ‘Highlights & Low Lives,’ which was released in Europe and Japan, but not in the US. It was followed by the band’s last studio album ‘Dining With The Sharks’ in 1991, which was also distributed in Europe, but not in the States. The acclaimed current lineup includes 2/3 of the original trio with Dickie Peterson on lead vocals and bass and Paul Whaley on drums. The two are joined by Duck McDonald on guitar who has been a member with the band on and off throughout the past 20 years.

BLUE CHEER has earned rave reviews on the road on recent tours for still ‘bringing on the sonic assault.’ ‘The band picked me up and body slammed me with their sound. BLUE CHEER was a revelation,’ reports Live New Orleans. Rolling Stone magazine states in a review of the band’s 2006 CMJ performance at CBGB’s: ‘ The terror is back’ and ‘with every needle on the soundboard pinned to the red.’ ‘Most critics point to Sabbath and Zeppelin as influences for current metal bands such as Wolfmother and Mastodon, but Blue Cheer’s unrelenting rawness, interesting use of distortion and love of the blues has as much to do with those sounds as anyone else,’ praises Columbus Alive.

Not since the band’s original recordings has BLUE CHEER captured so much of its groundbreaking melodic punch and uncompromising, psych-metal euphoria with ‘What Doesn’t Kill You.’ ‘The band right now blows my mind,’ laughs BLUE CHEER’s Dickie Peterson. ‘I am very happy with the new album. It is the same rock and roll we have always done. I can’t wait to get back on the road. With BLUE CHEER you have to go see it! It is a physical experience. I want people to leave saying I’ve never seen anything like that before. You can feel it. It punches you!’